Skywatching
The bending of light
Refraction
Troposphere
What are "cooperative observers"?
Volunteers who send daily reports to the NWS to help them validate their forecasts and adjust models.
What is the greenhouse effect?
Gases like CO2 and CH4 trap infrared head radiating off the Earth and prevent some of it from escaping into space.
Why do colors become separated in a rainbow?
Different wavelengths of light are refracted at different angles when passing through water.
Means "heaped" in Latin. Puffy, cotton ball- shaped clouds.
Cumulus
What is one way the NWS collects data on high altitude wind conditions?
Radiosondes and AMDR (sharing data from airplanes)
Why do clouds appear white in the daytime?
Because they're made of larger particles that reflect all wavelengths of light
High altitude, wispy clouds that can come before a warm front or indicate fair weather
Cirrus
Name one of the three kinds of weather satellites that government has
Geostationary (GOES), polar, deep space
Melting ice sheets makes cold water less salty, so it doesn't sink as easily.
Hotter water is less dense, so it doesn't sink.
What is Rayleigh scattering?
Shorter wavelengths of light (blue/purple) are deflected more easily by smaller particles like gas.
Describe a nibostratus cloud
Rain-producing (nibo) and layered (stratus). Large, dark cloud (because it can bring rain) that can cover the whole sky.
What is the difference between the GFS and the HRRR forecast models?
HRRR is the best for immediate conditions, issuing alerts and warning. Highest resolution.
GFS is lowest resolution, but best for longer-term forecasts
What is one thing that could happen if AMOC (including the Gulf Stream) were to shut down?
Ice age for Europe and N America, disrupted monsoon season in W Africa and Asia
Why are clouds orange at sunrise/sunset?
Blue/purple light is scattered more than orange/red in our atmosphere and at sunrise/sunset the light has to travel a longer distance through the atmosphere.
What name would we give a cloud that is mid-altitude and looks like puffy, white heaps.
Altocumulus
"alto"- mid-altitude
"cumulus"- heaped
Why does Heisenberg's uncertainty principle relate to creating weather forecasts?
Exact initial conditions can not be known, so long-term forecasting will always be limited.
positive: rise of clean energy